Brig.-Gen. Kuti deserves promotion, not demotion – CACOL

The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), Beko Rights Klub (BRK), and the Peoples’ Action for Democracy (PAD) have expressed delight in the order of the Nigerian Army Council to immediately release Brigadier-General Enitan Ransome Kuti who was convicted for his role in the Baga massacre by Boko Haram.

The Nigerian Army had sentenced him to six months imprisonment in 2015 and also dismissed from the service for “failure to perform military duties.”

According to the Media Coordinator, CACOL, Wale Salami the release is a justification that “Brigadier General Enitan was innocent based on the fact that he acted more like a patriot and demonstrated a good sense of leadership as the decision he took actually saved lives of many of our gallant soldiers that would have been lost in the Boko Haram ambush that he retreated from.

He explained that through several letters to President Muhammadu Buhari and the revelations reeled out from the arms procurement scandal, Kuti’s innocence is confirmed.

ALSO SEE: Exonerate and reinstate Brigadier Enitan Ransome Kuti – BRK pleads

While eulogising the action of Brigadier-General Enitan and others as “justiciable, reasonable and dialectical, Wale said, “What will a soldier do when his superiors have diverted funds meant to prepare him/her for an operation that involves risks of losing one’s live and troops, given that he/she also has been trained on the principle of self-preservation even in the fiercest battles?’’

CACOL commended Barrister Femi Falana (SAN) for his timely intervention in the case which drew public attention to the plight of Kuti, and the circumstances of the case and all other Nigerians that rallied round to call for a national pardon for the brigadier-general.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that instead of outright dismissal,  Kuti has been demoted to the rank of a Colonel.

To this end, CACOL is of the view that the officer deserves promotion rather than humiliating demotion.